


kiss kiss, fall in love

by pastisregret



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, Cute, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Strangers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-23 22:55:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21328036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pastisregret/pseuds/pastisregret
Summary: marinette needs to move on from her recent breakup, and finds it when she kisses a stranger under the eiffel tower under the guise of needing a photo.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 62
Kudos: 505





	kiss kiss, fall in love

**Author's Note:**

> twitter wanted this so... enjoy i guess

It had been a little over a month since the breakup, and one could say Marinette was doing good trying as best as she could to ignore the memory of Luka Couffaine, of a guy she had spent the better part of her school year smitten with. Marinette tore down the old photos of them together, deleted the playlists she made with him in mind, and carefully folded the collection of hoodies and shirts she stole from him to store in the highest parts of her closet.

Still, one could argue it did no good when the one person she wanted to forget was everywhere.

“Not _this_ song,” Alya says, scrunching up her nose as they passed by a merchant’s radio blasting the tune. “You’d think people would have gotten over it by now.”

“You don’t have to hate it just because Luka’s the one singing,” Marinette reminds her.

“No,” Alya acknowledges, the song fading off into the distance. “But I can try to.”

“And I appreciate the effort, Al.” A hand coming up, Marinette let it twirl around the ends of her hair, thinking. “He wrote that song about me, you know,” she adds. “I was his – “

“Melody,” Alya finishes. “You say that every time it’s on.”

“Because it’s true. I was.”

Keyword: _was_.

“How long until he’s back in Paris?” Alya asks, after a brief pause.

“Not until next June, when the tour finally wraps up in North America,” Marinette answers, tugging on Alya’s coat as they turned the corner.

“You don’t think he’ll want to see you?”

“The only thing Luka wants,” Marinette says, kicking a stone in her path, “is for me to move on. He’s always put me first, even if it means I have to catch up to him in the process. And what he wants is for me to take two steps forward and walk away, far from where we used to be.”

“That’s pretty poetic,” Alya says, nudging her shoulder. “Maybe you learned a thing or two while dating him.”

“I flipped through his songbook before he left. He’s had a journal full of new songs since May, and I’m sure by now that he’ll have even more new material.”

“Maybe you’ll get a new song to tell people about.”

“Or maybe there’ll be some new girl taking space in his mind.”

Alya huffs, stopping her step to turn and look at Marinette. “Do you _really_ think Luka would move on so easily?” she asks her, doubt clear in her voice.

“No.” Sighing, Marinette peered past Alya, looking at the line of merchants shrouding the area surrounding the Eiffel, and the crowd that had gathered near the base. “If anything, I give him at _least_ half a year before he even attempts to date again.”

“And how long do you give yourself?”

Marinette doesn’t answer, continuing to look off in the distance. A painter was sat down before the Eiffel, offering freshly made paintings of the tower and self-portraits to anyone willing to buy. Maybe the sort of thing Marinette would have bought as a gift for Luka, if they were still together.

“You deserve to find someone new, Mari,” Alya continues. “I don’t care how hard you try to convince me, if there’s anyone who’s earned that opportunity, it’s you.”

There’s a guy looking closely at a painting that grabs her attention, who squats down and tilts his head as if getting a better view. A hat covers most of his face, but Marinette can notice the blonde tufts poking out, the only clue to his appearance from so far away. His collar’s tucked upwards as well, concealing his jawline and leaving only the sharp turn of his nose to be picked up.

Still, it’s enough to keep her intrigued.

“What are you looking at?” Alya asks.

Blinking, Marinette stiffens as she turns her gaze back to her, already feeling her cheeks warming up. “Nothing.”

“Don’t ‘nothing’ me. You’re looking at something, girl. _Someone_, if I’m right.” Turning her head, Alya squints. Providing help, Marinette points a cautious finger in his direction, even going so far as to quietly mumble, “The guy in the hat.”

“The guy in the hat,” Alya repeats, each word said with an added layer of excitement built underneath.

Sighing, Marinette hoped a wave of wind would com over the two and cool her cheeks. “…Yes.”

“And you were looking at him because…?”

“Because he seems… _interesting_,” Marinette provides, searching for an excuse. “I can’t gawk from afar?”

“You can,” Alya says, already moving her head to look once more behind them, “but don’t tell me that’s _all_ you’re gonna do.”

“What can I do? Walk up and just start a conversation?”

“Maybe. Or, you could make sure to leave a lasting impression.” Thumb pointed out, Alya gestures to a couple posing for a picture nearby, locked in a kiss while the Eiffel stood in the background.

“You’re _kidding_,” Marinette says, feeling her cheeks turn hotter and eyes widen.

“Just say you want a picture for your Instagram! You’re overdue for a new post anyways, and it would make for a _killer_ story after.”

“I’ll embarrass myself before I even get that far.”

“Not with that attitude. And what’s the worst that’ll happen, he says no?” Alya asks, arching a brow.

Allowing herself one more look over, Marinette noticed the guy had yet to move away from the paintings, practically still in the same spot as before. He _looked_ nice, respectful and calm as he continued to look around.

Surely, he wouldn’t turn her down, would he?

Biting her lip, Marinette gave Alya a hesitant look. “And you just think this’ll work?”

“You never know if you don’t try.” Grabbing Marinette’s shoulders, she guided her towards his direction and sent her off with a gentle push. “Now _try_.”

Marinette isn’t quite sure how she manages to make it over without tripping over her feet. She doesn’t understand how her hands managed to turn clammy while her mouth went dry, or the way her heart suddenly started pounding ten beats too fast for her. And she certainly doesn’t get how her voice worked well enough to ask him the question, but somehow, it happens.

“Kiss you?” he repeats, looking up at her. He was still crouched down to gaze at the paintings, and from the angle she could finally catch sight of his eyes. They were green, practically glowing as his hat cast a shadow on his face.

“Um, yeah,” Marinette says, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “Just a quick one for a picture, nothing too extra.”

“A picture?”

“I’m totally fine if you’re not okay with it,” Marinette continues. “It’d just be a nice thing to have on my Instagram feed, and _just_ the romantic thing I need to get my friends off my back but really, don’t feel obligated to go through if you really don’t want to because – “

He gets up before she can finish.

“You have your phone on you, right?” he finally says, adjusting his hat. “You’d better hand it over to someone so they could take the picture, otherwise we might be left struggling.”

Blinking, Marinette moved her head back to look at him, the guy much taller than she had originally anticipated. “Really?” she asks. “You want to take the picture with me?”

“You said it’d be a good thing to have on your feed,” he says, adjusting his collar and making to lower it down. “How can I rob you of that?”

“And you’re fine with it?”

“It’s just a picture. Can’t do that much harm now, can it?”

“I guess not,” Marinette says, a smile coming over her face. Unlocking her phone, she held the phone out to him, camera out. “Care to hold it while we take the picture?”

As their hands brushed against one another, Marinette tried to steal a glance at his face. The lowered collar revealed the part of his face that she had been unable to catch earlier, and showed a smile nearly bright enough to blind her. Hat still low, Marinette kept the memory of his eyes at the front of her mind, intent on preserving as much of how he looked for as long as she could.

And for a brief second, as he pulled her close with his free arm, Marinette almost felt a sense of ease run through her, as if the picture she had drawn up came closer to reality.

“Ready?” he asks. By his way of positioning her phone, the Eiffel was easy to catch in the background while still keeping them in the frame, with an arm steady enough to ensure the photo wouldn’t blur. Nodding, Marinette took a deep breath, gearing herself up for the kiss. Just a sweet and simple one, nothing more. She could do this. She could look him in the eyes, and lean upwards on her toes, and –

“Oh, let me take off my hat before we do this,” he tells her, removing his arm around her waist for a brief second to remove it, hand yanking it off in one fluid motion. Bringing it back down, he lets his hand rest on the small of her back, smiling down at her.

Marinette felt her heart start up again as she finally caught a glimpse of his unconcealed face. He was cuter than she had expected. _Way_ cuter.

Another second, and something else hits. He was familiar. _Way_ too familiar.

“Ready?” he asks, and Marinette doesn’t let her brain process where she’s seen him before she’s rising on her toes to meet his lips. A hand coming up to gently touch at his jaw, Marinette closes her eyes, hoping he’ll manage to take a good pic in time. The kiss is soft, with a wave of adrenaline rushing through her at the thought of kissing someone she just met, without so much as an exchange of names. Feeling him kiss back, Marinette wonders if Alya’s caught sight of them or headed over to see them, and can tell but the sound of a phone going off she most certainly did, taking documentation of her own for later.

Marinette doesn’t have it in her to care much about that, more interested in how long a kiss could go on and still be deemed appropriate.

When they finally pull away, Marinette catches another look of his face, a quick glimpse that leaves her wanting to stare just a bit longer in the hopes of figuring out where she knows him from. But before she can work the gears in her mind, he’s concealed his face again with his hat.

“I think it came out good,” he says, handing Marinette’s phone back to her. “What do you think?”

Looking down at her screen, Marinette feels her cheeks grow warm at the sight, of the two interlocked in a kiss. She bites her bottom lip as she looks, wondering if her lip gloss left any residue on him, a question answered when she lets her eyes dart up to spot a glossy sheen on his lips. She almost wants to reach a hand up to wipe away at it, but ignores the whim.

“It’s perfect,” she finally says, already opening up Instagram to post the picture before her nerves got the best of her. Choosing a series of emojis to caption the post with and tagging the Eiffel, Marinette hits post and refreshes her profile, smiling as she sees the post join her feed’s lineup.

“I can’t thank you enough for this,” Marinette tells him, locking her phone and shoving it in her back pocket. “Is there any way I can repay you?”

“If anything, I’m sure I’m the one who needs to repay you,” he says, chuckling. “You’re quite the kisser.”

Marinette blushes, rolling her eyes in attempt to brush off his comment. “No need to lie to a total stranger.”

“Who says I was lying?” he asks, adjusting his hat as he continues, “It’s my first time being out without my bodyguard in a while, and getting to kiss someone as beautiful as you almost makes up for all the lost time.”

“I could almost say the same thing with you, especially the way you – wait.” Marinette pauses, blinking at him. “Your _what_?”

“My bodyguard,” he repeats, before raising a hand to look at his watch. An _expensive_ one at that, Marinette notes. “He should have probably found out I snuck out from the limo by now, so I guess he’s on the hunt. Did you tag your location in that post?”

Looking down at her phone, Marinette unlocked it. “I did, but I’m sure it didn’t get that many likes yet. I’ll just take it down and – “

With a gulp, she realizes that wasn’t an option. Glancing at her phone, there was the startling realization of many notifications flooding her Instagram, a never-ending wave of new likes and comments enough that her phone was close to freezing up. Even if she had the chance to archive the post to reupload later amidst the chaos, the damage had already occurred.

“I guess a fan found out and spread it already,” he says.

“A fan,” Marinette repeats, feeling her heart start to pump rapidly. As she looked up at him, watching the way he pushed back his hat to reveal more of his face, Marinette felt the wave of familiarity run through her once more, someone coming to mind the longer she gazed at his face. The son of her boss, at the new position she had just recently gotten. A world-renowned model, whose measurements she knew like the back of her hand. A person she every so often bumped into at the office, both too engrossed in their activities to acknowledge one another.

A guy she hadn’t recognized before kissing.

Sighing, he shook his head even while a smile graced his mouth. “I guess I should have expected that to happen. We have a good ten minutes before they start showing up.”

“What’s your name?” Marinette asks, too quick to stop herself.

“My name?” he says, blinking.

“Just to know,” she offers. “I feel like we should at least exchange that in case things get chaotic.”

“You make a good point,” he says, nodding. “I’m Adrien.”

“Adrien,” she says, waiting for the last name to confirm her thoughts.

“Agreste,” he finishes. “Adrien Agreste.”

Marinette nods, the last puzzle piece she needed falling into place. “Of course.”

“Disappointed?” Adrien asks. “I know it’s not the best person to wind up with, or the best situation.”

Giving a small smile, Marinette shook her head, voice soft as she replied. “No, not at all. I’m Marinette. Dupain-Cheng,” she adds at the end.

“Well then, Marinette,” Adrien starts, looking behind him as he spoke, “We should get out of here now. Do you know anywhere we could go?”

“The movies, maybe,” she suggests. “I can text my friend Alya to meet us up there and we can hide out there for a while before finding somewhere else to go.”

“Sounds perfect.” Grinning, Adrien looked down at her. “Care to lead the way?”

Holding onto his arm, Marinette led Adrien off, her nerves dissipating while a string of butterflies began to flutter about in her stomach with every step they took.

Perhaps they would get the chance to take more pictures. And perhaps, she might have another photo to add to her kissing collection.

**Author's Note:**

> mari-cheres on tumblr haha maybe follow there


End file.
